Qantas has announced an eye-watering loss of AUD1.83bn (R19.5bn) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, due to ongoing international border closures, strict domestic travel restrictions, and individual state lockdowns in the period.
Nonetheless, Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, had an optimistic forecast for the coming Christmas season, in spite of hard lockdowns in New South Wales and Victoria. He said he expected these two states to open their borders by December 1, working on the assumption of the country achieving the 80% vaccination level by that date.
“This loss shows the impact that a full year of closed international borders and more than 330 days of domestic travel restrictions had on the national carrier. The trading conditions have frankly been diabolical,” said Joyce, on the release of the results last Thursday, August 26. “By the end of this calendar year, it’s likely Covid will cost us more than AUD$20bn (R213bn).”
In a creative response to the pandemic, Qantas has developed 46 new domestic routes and Australia has seen a boom in domestic leisure tourism.
“We’re able to move quickly when borders open and close. We’re a leaner and more efficient organisation. And our requirement for all employees to be vaccinated will create a safer environment for our people and customers. When Australia reaches those critical vaccination targets later this year, and the likelihood of future lockdowns and border closures reduces, we expect to see a surge in domestic travel demand and a gradual return of international travel,” he said.
He noted that flights to destinations that still have low vaccine rates and high levels of Covid infection, such as Bali, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg, would likely remain closed until later in 2022, see here.
-Travel News
